The U.S. Department of Education posted on-line state-by-state estimates of new education revenues included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan vowed to release a significant share of the $100 billion in funding in time to avert teacher layoffs.

Duncan made the announcement at a Brooklyn charter school where he was joined by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.

"The single best way to stimulate the economyshort-term and long-termis to keep teachers teaching and keep kids learning," Duncan said after meeting with students and teachers of Explore Charter School.

"States are hurting, and schools across America are facing catastrophic cuts. We need to invest this money quickly, thoughtfully and transparently to protect kids, create jobs and drive reforms," Duncan said. He added that the moneya two-year, one-time boostwill be released as quickly as possible to insure that states can help districts minimize layoffs.

New York City anticipated as many as 14,000 teacher layoffs next year, but city officials recently said that the stimulus money, with effective cooperation from New York State, could avert "most" of those cuts and keep those teachers in the classroom.

Mayor Bloomberg thanked President Obama and Secretary Duncan saying, "The State's fiscal problems have threatened to drastically reduce State aid to City schools, forcing us to confront the possibility of deep cuts and substantial layoffs. Fortunately, President Obama and his administration worked with Congress to include much-needed education funding in the economic stimulus bill, which will help save jobsand help our students continue acquiring the skills they need to lead the 21st century economy. The federal education aid will not be a cure all for our budget problems, but it's an important shot in the arm. I want to thank President Obama and Secretary Duncan for their leadership in delivering this important infusion of funds."

Duncan praised Mayor Bloomberg, Chancellor Klein and President Weingarten for the city's aggressive education reform efforts saying, "Districts like New York are remaking public education in America with bold and innovative new learning models, higher standards and teacher quality initiatives. We must support those efforts. We can't go backwards."

Duncan further saluted AFT President Weingarten for her leadership and support of the administration, calling her, "A critical partner in advancing President Obama's education agenda."